Brand and Student Recruitment Manager at Stellenbosch University

About this role:

• Stellenbosch Business School (SBS), part of Stellenbosch University (SU), is one of Africa's leading business schools and holds the prestigious Triple Crown of international accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA), placing it among the top 1% of business schools globally. SBS is committed to developing responsible leaders for a better world through internationally recognised graduate education, impactful research and meaningful societal engagement.
• The School invites applications from suitably qualified candidates for the position of Brand and Student Recruitment Manager. Reporting to the Head of Marketing, the incumbent will manage the School's brand and student recruitment functions, ensuring strong market positioning, enhanced institutional reputation, and sustainable student enrolment growth.

Duties       
The incumbent will be responsible for:

• Developing and implementing comprehensive annual brand plans aligned to the School's strategic objectives and growth priorities.
• Strengthening and safeguarding the SBS brand through effective brand governance, standards and positioning initiatives.
• Leading integrated student recruitment and conversion strategies across programmes and markets.
• Developing and implementing an integrated recruitment plan, with annual budgets, across all programmes, markets and delivery modes, covering South Africa, Southern Africa and other priority markets.
• Driving integrated marketing campaigns across digital and traditional channels to support recruitment and reputation objectives.
• Overseeing website performance, digital optimisation, search visibility, content development and conversion pathways.
• Leading market research, customer insight and competitor analysis initiatives to inform strategic decision-making.
• Monitoring and enhancing customer experience across all marketing touchpoints.
• Developing and maintaining recruitment dashboards, forecasting models and performance reporting frameworks.
• Monitoring marketing budgets, managing external agencies and service providers.
• Leading, coaching and developing the Brand and Student Recruitment team while fostering a high-performance culture.
• Building productive relationships with programme leaders, academic staff, alumni, students, employers and strategic partners.

Job Requirements/Pos Vereistes        

• A relevant bachelor's degree (NQF Level 7) in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, or a related field.
• At least seven years' progressively responsible experience in brand management, consumer marketing, student recruitment, or other customer-facing conversion functions.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning and implementation.
• Proven people leadership and team management experience.
• Experience in budget management, project management and the management of agencies or external service providers.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement and presentation skills.
• Strong analytical, organisational and reporting capabilities.
• Willingness to work flexible hours.

Recommendation

• A relevant postgraduate qualification.
• Experience within higher education, business education, or education marketing.
• Evidence of ongoing professional development through short courses or certifications in areas such as digital marketing, CRM, marketing automation, analytics, customer experience, or brand management.
• Understanding of branding, reputation management, marketing analytics and marketing automation.
• Knowledge of the South African and broader African higher education landscape.

Deadline:29th October,2026